The GNU/Linux gaming market is much bigger than you think

We know that these last few years have been excellent for GNU/Linux gaming, with thousands of titles coming out, both AAA and independent. I always believed GNU/Linux users are more likely to shell out cash for a good game, and now we have some confirmation from an industry insider:

Everybody we have talked to have been fairly surprised, positively surprised, by how big the market is and how it has expanded their bottom line. — James Ramsey, Codeweavers

This is from an interview he gave on Boiling Steam. Just think how much more money the industry could have made if it had realized the potential of GNU/Linux gaming earlier. But it took a push beyond critical mass to really take off. I attribute it to three things:

Valve bringing their engines, client and DRM natively to GNU/Linux.

Humble Bundle requiring games to be ported to GNU/Linux to be included in the official bundles.

GOG.com and GamersGate adding support for GNU/Linux.

All this gave a signal from high-profile companies: GNU/Linux gaming is something, it’s not nothing. And apparently, it’s been something profitable.